Father of them all – The Bear-Hug.
The research I did that resulted in my book called “The Story of Catch” covers the various historical traditional styles of Western European BearHug Wrestling such as English, German, French, Dutch and Flemish. Since the first edition in 2019, I have received many inquiries (via e-mail, email and Facebook messenger) about traditional folk wrestling styles, but one main question remains – which one is the oldest based on my 15 years of research? I decided to go ahead and share my personal opinion which is fully based on the facts and historical material I have gathered over the years.
Also Read: gt20ge210
During my studies I discovered that there are three traditional English styles of folk wrestling (wrastelynge) namely: “by the collar” (wrestling at arm’s length, digging the legs and hooking the legs), “by the belt/hold” (melee wrestling, game with hip, i.e. crossed buttock) and the most common and probably the oldest style of all (as it required no special wrestling implements like the other two styles), the ultimate test of strength to embrace”.
All three folk English styles were imported to England in the 8th-11th centuries by the Norsemen/Vikings, a North Germanic people from Scandinavia. Viking folk wrestling styles have been well researched by the famous Swedish archivist and antiquarian Johan Gustaf Liljegren (1791-1837). In his 1818 book entitled Rolfs Sturlögssons eller Gånge Rolfs Saga (“The Story of a Hero of Scandinavian Antiquity: The Saga of Gaange Rolf”), on page 313 he mentioned the Liftag/Ryggtag match among other wrestling games that were popular among the Norwegians and described it thus:
The BearHug Wrestling is a classic wrestling move that is rarely seen today.
In the past, a wrestler used a bear hug on his opponent. After some time, the person trapped in the hold would start limping. The referee lifted the man’s arm and looked to see if it dropped to his side three times. If that happens, the match is over.
Normally, we would see a lifeless wrestler begin to gain strength and power from below deck.
So what would happen to the body if the bear hug we see in wrestling was applied with maximum effort?
The move begins when the hold applicator wraps his arms around his opponent. Two wrestlers face each other.
The arms of the applicator are positioned so that the arms touch the bottom of the opponent’s ribcage. As the arms continue around the body, they touch the opponent’s lower back. The arms of the applicator are at an angle of approximately 45 degrees.
BearHug Wrestling Toss
Army Sgt. Courtney Meyers, bottom, throws Marine Cpl. Vaughn Monreal-Berner in the 87-kilogram weight class during the 2018 Armed Forces Greco-Roman Championship at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 24, 2018. Meyers is a member of the Armed Forces Sports program’s Allarmy wrestling team and Monreal-Berner is a member of the All-Marines team . Navy photo by Lt. Joe Painter
